Supporting and actuating means for vertically reciprocating members



Feb. 27, 1945. c scHLElFER 2370,1328

SUPPORTING AND ACTUATING MEANS FOR VERTICALLY RECIPROGATING MEMBERS Filed Feb. 20 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l 6. wh /91 j Feb. 27, 1945. SCHLEIFER 2,370,328

SUPPORTING AN CTUATING MEANS FOR VEHTICALLY RECIPROCATING MEMBERS Filed Feb. 20, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a /E 7 6" v Patented Feb. 27, 1945 UNil STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,370,338 I SUPPORTING AND ACTUATING S FOR VERTICALLY REGIPROCNIING MEMBERS Carlo scmeifer, Milan, Italy; vestedin the Alien Property Custodian Application-February 20, 1940," Seria'kNm. 319,9.7'2v

In ItalyFebruary 22, 1939 7 Claims;

In existing: machines for spinning; twisting;

windingeon and doubling; there: are movable,

members actuated with a verticalfireciprocating movement. The carriagesthaticarrieszthezspindles in fly frames,.thespindle: carriage'or ring rail in continuous: spinning. ortwisting: ring. frames; andthe ring.rail thatcarriesv the thread guidesor bells in: certain: special. spinning machines; are members'sof this=nature:.

In the constructions: hitherto known, these movablemembers are supported, guided and'actuated by theraid of vertical-rods orp'okers sliding in thexsleeves or couplings substantially: integral with the frame: of the machine", and actuated through the: mediumi of. suitable transmission members. by a. rod: extending in the longitudinal direction off the machinean'd actuate'ot with a reciprocating; motion: bythe winding-on eccentric or other equivalent kinematic drive;

This: arrangement exhibits various 1 disadvantages. Above:- all in machinesof considerable length such as spinning machines; itis' difficult to ensure and maintain correct parallelism between the guiding 'rods; and it is also difficult to effect thelubrication thereof for the purpose of ensuring smooth sliding in the interior ofthe coupling sleeves in which the said-rods slide with accurate: adjustment.- There are consequently considerabledosses" by friction, and a great expenditure of motivepower; Furthermore, owing to the fact that the movablemember is positivelydriven only d'uring its ascent; whereas its descent is accomplished" under the action of gravity, this member cannot be accurately balanced for the purp'oseof "redu cingtthe' expenditure of motive power.

Now the present invention, the object'of which is to obviate the aforementioneddisadvantages; relates to a device for supporting and actuating the said movablemembers; accordingto which each member is not. supported and actuated by rigid rods; but: is on the. contrarysusp'endedi by the aid of flexible members" from. driving members'havingan oscillating rotary movementwith which the saidfflexible members are positively. engaged, and inrelatibn" to which they unwind now in one'direction and now'in the'opposite direction, so that the movable member suspended therefrom executes a vertical" ascending and. descending movement.

These fiexiblemembers may, be. continuous, that is to say, in -the form. of auclosed. ring, unwinding also in engagement with tensioningmembers so ber both during; its: ascent and: during its descent, thereby enabling the weight; to be accurately balanced;

According to a further. feature: of the: present invention" the movable members are subdivided into a' plurality. of short. elements which-elements are: separately actuated: in aima'nner similar to tl'zat imv the form: of the invention in: which; the longer movable"members are employed; In this way the; disadvantages". arising. from any lack' of arallelism: between the vertical guiding membersand the totality of-i the:movable members 1 is reduced' to' a minimum:

Some fbrms'of construction-- of the invention arediag-rammatically" illustrated -mer e1y by way of example in the accompanyingdrawings; in which- Figuresl and' 2 'show in -side elevation and in transverse section respectively the: drive for the spindle carriage of a spinning or twisting machine;

Figure 3 is=a=viewsimilar to l ig-ure z showing a" modification;

Fig. 3A is a Perspective view of T certain portions of Fig. 3.

Figure 4" shows an end view of a device" for superposin'g' upon the alternatingmovementoi the spindle carriage an intermittent" slow vertical movement whichis always in the same direction; I 7

Figures 5 and- 6 sh'owtwo-- forms of windings that" may" be produced with this spindle carriage drive:

Figures 7 and 8 show on a larger-scale two forms of flexible suspension members for the movable member; and the-drive associatedtherewith;

Figure-ash'ows inside elevation a modification in the drive of the spindle carriage"; and

Figures 10' and 11 show in side' elevation and in transverse section respectively another'modi fi'cati'on;

According to the. embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and"2,'1 each. of the spindle carriages ofthe two halves. wand? a thatconstitute the.

' continuous'spinning, or. twisting frame is subas to. ensure: the: actuating; of: the. :movablelmeme 5 dividediinto. aplurality' of! bolster rail elements I and' I" of limited; length Each. ofithese. rails, carrying. the spindlesland 2 is so guided as to be capable of sliding in a-vertical-directionby the aid=ot sleeveslorl couplings 3 and3' along the guide rods k and 4 respectively, which are. sub stantially; integral with the frame 5' ofthe-. ma-- china. Eachwf; the-railsfl and- I is: suspended by the aid of an endless flexible member 6 or 6'. The rails I and I are anchored at 6 and 6 to endless members 6 and 6 respectively, said endless members being in positive engagement with driving wheels 1 and I, keyed to transverse shafts 8, rotatably supported by fixed bearing brackets 9 substantially integral with the frame ,5. These flexible members also positively engage tensioning wheels I and I0, keyed to transverse shafts II, which are also rotatably supported by the frame 5.

The flexible suspension members may consist of chains, as shown in Figure'l, and in this case the wheels I and I are ordinary toothed wheels with which the chains mesh; or alternatively a flange wheel may be employed to which a cable or a metallic tape 60 is anchored as at I2 to the periphery of the wheel (Fig. 8)

For the actuating of the various elements of the spindle carriage a rod I3 is provided, which is so guided as to be capable of sliding in the longitudinal direction of the machine, and is reciprocated by a cam or other equivalent member, In the example illustrated, this cam member comprises a cylinder I4 having cam groove I4 therein. A roller I5 is secured to rod I3 and engages the groove. The rod I3 is provided at suitable points with screw threaded portions or worms I3, which mesh with worm wheels I6, keyed to the shafts 8. During the reciprocating movement of the rod I3 these worms I3 also function as racks and thereby impart an oscillating rotary movement to the shafts 8 and to the Wheels I and I, which movement is converted into an alternating vertical movement through the medium of the flexible members 6 and 6, said flexible members being positively controlled both during the ascent and during the descent of the elements I and I' of the spindle carriage.

With a view to reducing the force required for the raising of the elements I and I of the carriage, these elements may be accurately balanced by the aid of counterpoises I'I, acting through the medium of flexible members I8 upon pulleys I9 keyed to the shafts II. Alternatively, the weight of the elements I may be directly balanced with the weight of the elements I on the other half of the machine, through the medium of the same flexible suspension members 6 and 6 by connecting the rails to the flexible members in such a manner that one rail will ascend while the other descends, as diagrammatically indicated in the modification illustrated in Figs.

3 and 3A.

With the simple vertical alternating movement impressed upon the elements I and I of the spindle carriage, cylindrical bobbins, such as the bobbin of Fig. 6, may be obtained, having a height h equal to the amplitude of the alternating movement impressed upon the said elements. It is also possible to obtain bobbins with a conical 'point, such as the bobbin 2I of Fig. 5, if there is impressed upon the longitudinal rod I3 a rotary as well as an axially reciprocable movement. The last named axially recipro-cable movement of rod I3 will produce a vertical alternating movement of amplitude h equal to the height of the winding traverse, and at the same time the intermittent unidirectional rotary motion of the rod I3 will gradually lower the spindle rela-' tive to the winding point over a total distance H during the entire winding of the package. The screw threaded portions I3, by also functioning as screws or worms, will therefore impressupon the worm wheels I6 an intermittent rotary motion, so that upon the alternating movement of amplitude h of the elements I and I there will be superposed an intermittent progressive raising or lowering movement of amplitude H, which will determine the formation of the bobbin 2I of Figure 5.

In order to impress uponthe rod I3 an intermittent rotary movement, recourse may be had for example to the device shown in Figure 1, and in detail on a larger scale in Figure 4. According to this device, there as made substantially integral with the cam cylinder I4 a heart-shaped cam 22, designed to actuate, with a reciprocating motion, a push rod 23, which, owing to the fact that it is jointed to one of the arms of a bent lever 24 oscillatably mounted upon a shaft 25, causes this lever to oscillate. ,The other arm of the lever 24 is provided with a pawl 26, engaging with a ratchet wheel 21, which is substantially integral with a wheel 28, which, by the aid of a chain 29, transmits the. motion to another wheel 30, which wheel is keyed by means of a sliding key 3| to the end of the rod I3. At each revolution of the cam cylinder I4 there is impressed upon the rod I3 a small intermittent rotary movement, so that upon the alternating vertical movement of the elements I and I of the carriage there is superimposed a slow descending movement, in such a manner as to obtain the bobbin 2I' shown in Figure 5. If, instead of the spindle carriage, reciprocable ring rails are mounted upon the flexible members, the rotating spindles will remain in a relatively stationary position and therefore thesaid slow movement H would have to be, an, ascending movement, which would be obtained by impressing a reverse rotation upon the rod I3, or else by making use of an inverse pitch for the screw I3.

The flexible members I I6 that support the elements I of the carriage may equally well be discontinuous, as shown in Fig. 9. In this case, the said flexible members, still engaging with the actuating wheels I, keyed on to the shafts 3, which wheels are actuated with an oscillating rotary motion, are anchored at one end, at 6 to the element I or the carriage while at the other end of the flexible members a force F is provided, said force comprising a counterpoise with a view of balancing the weight of the-element I of the carriage. Alternatively, the weight of the elements I may be balanced directly against the weight of the elements I on the other half of the machine through the medium of flexible suspension members GI and 6|, by vertically staggering the points of attachment 6, 6 one with the other on opposite sides of the machine in such a. manner that when element I rises the other element I descends, and conversely, as indicated diagrammatically in Figures 10 and 11.

When discontinuous flexible elements are employed, as in the examples illustrated in Figures 9, 10 and 11, the positive actuation of the elements I and I of the carriage takes place only during the ascent,. whereas the descent is efrfected under the action of gravity.

In the device for supporting and actuating the movable members hereinbefore described, owing to the suspension and the actuation of these movable members by the aid of flexible members, and furthermore owing to the subdivision of these movable members into a plurality of short elements, the friction along the guiding members 4 and 4 is reduced to a minimum, either owing to the fact that accurate adjustment of the guiding sleeves 3 and 3' is no longer required, or else owing to the fact that any defects of parallelism between the guiding members of the various elements have no influence. The expenditure of motive power for the actuation of the machine is thus considerably reduced, while all the disadvantages presented by the actuating devices hitherto known are eliminated.

' Although the invention has been described in its application to the actuation of the spindle carriage of a ring spinning frame or ring doubler, it is obvious that with appropriate modifications, and without going outside the scope of the invention, it is equally applicable to the actuation of the ring rail of these same spinning or twisting machines, or to the bell-carrying rail or thread guide rail in certain special spinning machines, and in general to any movable member of spinning, twisting, winding-on and like machines.

What I claim is:

l. A supporting and actuating device for spinning machines, twisting machines, winding machines and the like comprising, an actuating shaft having a rotary oscillating motion, a pair of actuating elements secured to said actuating shaft, a tensioning countershaft journalled parallel to and vertically above the actuating shaft, a pair of circular return guiding elements secured to said tensioning countershaft, a pair of continuous flexible members movable about said countershaft in the same direction, each of said flexible members passing round and positively engaging an actuating element and also passing round and positively engaging a circular return guiding element thereby providing an ascending section and a desce di g section in the flexible member, a pair of vertically reciprocable traverse members, means for separately securing one of said traverse members to the ascending section of one flexible member, and means for separately securing the other of said traverse members to the descending section of the other flexible member, whereby one traverse member will ascend while the other descends.

2. In a builder motion for spinning machines, twisting machines, winding machines and the like comprising, a first shaft having a rotary oscillating motion, a countershaft journalled parallel to and vertically above said actuating shaft, guiding means secured to said countershaft, continuous flexible driving means surrounding said guiding means and movable back and forth by said oscillating first shaft, thereby providing an ascending section and a descending section in the flexible driving means, a pair of traverse members, means for securing one of said traverse members to the ascending section of the flexible driving means, and means for separately securing the other of said traverse members to the descending section of the flexible driving means, whereby one traverse member will ascend while the other descends.

3. In a builder motion for spinning machines, twisting machines, winding machines and the like comprising, a first shaft having a rotary oscillating motion, a countershaft, guiding means secured to said countershaft, flexible driving means encircling said guiding means and positively movable back and forth by said oscillating first shaft, thereby providing oppositely movable sections in the flexible driving means, a pair of traverse members, means for securing oneiof said traverse members to one of said sections, and means for securing the other traverse member to the other of said sections, whereby one traverse member will move in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the other member.

4. In a builder motion for spinning machines, twisting machines, winding machines and the like comprising, a first shaft having a rotary oscillating motion, a countershaft, guiding means secured to said countershaft, flexible driving means encircling said guiding means and positively movable back and forth by said oscillating first shaft, thereby providing oppositely movable sections in the flexible driving means, a pair of traverse members, means for securing one of said traverse members to one of'said sections, means for securing the other traverse member to th other of said sections, whereby one traverse member will move in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the other member, a worm gear fixedly secured upon said first shaft, a worm shaft, a worm fixed upon said worm shaft and meshing with said worm gear, means for axially reciprocating said worm shaft and worm to impart reciprocatory movement to said travers members, and means for intermittently rotating said worm shaft and worm in the same direction, whereby a slow unidirectional displacement will be superimposed upon the reciprocating movement of the traverse members.

5. A builder motion according to claim 2 including a worm gear fixedly mounted on one of said shafts, a worm shaft, a worm fixed upon said worm shaft and meshing with said worm gear, means for axially reciprocating said worm shaft and worm to impart reciprocatory movement to said traverse members, and means for intermittently and unidirectionallyrotating said worm shaft and attached worm whereby a unidirectional displacement will be superimposed upon the reciprocatory movement of the traverse members.

6. In a builder motion for spirming machines, twisting machines, winding machine and the like comprising a pair of traverse members, endless flexible means, means for supporting said flexible means for back and forth movement about, two spaced points enclosed by the flexible means thereby providing oppositely movable sections in the flexible means, means for securing one traverse member to one of said sections, and means for securing the other traverse member to the other of said sections.

'7. A builder motion according to claim 6 including a transmission device for superimposing a unidirectional displacement upon the back and forth movement of said traverse bars, said device comprising a worm wheel operatively connected to said flexible member, a worm meshing with said gear, means for axially reciprocating said worm, and means for unidirectionally ro-' tating said worm.

CARLO SCI-ILEIFER. 

